Sainz was fastest during the opening laps of Q3 of Azerbaijan qualifying. However, in his attempt to get a perfect last lap, he made a mistake that ultimately left him fourth on the grid behind Charles Leclerc, Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen.
Carlos Sainz improved his pace significantly throughout the weekend, but he knew he had to take more risks if he wanted to stand out in qualifying.
“It’s frustrating [this situation], especially when you see the evolution of the track, with the temperature getting lower and lower,” he said when asked by Motorsport.com about his final lap.
“It’s what happens when you go and find the limit, what happens when you’re testing yourself. Already in the first lap I had a couple of very critical moments with the wall, and in the second, trying to correct everything, I made a mistake. mistake”.
“It cost me a lot, but I’m still in the fight and I’m making progress, so I’m going to keep the good part. Baku is like that, it’s probably where I lack a little bit of experience [with this car], to be on the limit properly. or know exactly where to find the last tenth”.
Sainz trailed Leclerc throughout the session, before making his mark in Q3 and being provisionally on pole heading into the final run.
“I’m thinking a little bit on the sidelines of Fridays and FP3, to make sure I understand the car before pushing it to the limit. After a couple of warnings in recent races, I’ve decided to take that approach a bit,” he admitted.
“And honestly, in practice I always felt good, I just knew I needed to take a little more risks in qualifying, and as soon as I started taking them I was already in a fight with Charles [Leclerc] and the two Red Bulls. “.
Sainz opted to contest Q3 without the benefit of a slipstream, having weighed the pros and cons of this decision.
“I knew a slipstream was around one and a half tenths down the main straight, but tire preparation and air at the front are also important, and my aim was to go ahead and try and get some clean laps. So we’ll look into that.” “, concluded the Spaniard.
